Today In History with The Retrospectors

Rerun. Dr James Bedford became the first dead body to be cryogenically frozen on 12th January, 1967 – a day still commemorated in the ‘suspended animation’ community as Bedford Day. But in this burgeoning (pseudo)science, there were plenty of preparations yet to be made. Which meant that the freezing team – lead not by scientists but enthusiasts – ran out of ice, and forgot to drain his blood. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly dive into the legal cases that sprang from this early period of cryogenic freezing; consider the psychological implications of being awoken from death, generations after your grandchildren have died; and propose a controversial solution for minimising future errors in the process… CONTENT WARNING: description of decomposition Further Reading: ‘Cool dude James Bedford has been cryonically frozen for 50 years’ (CNET, 2017): https://www.cnet.com/news/cool-dude-james-bedford-has-been-cryonically-frozen-for-50-years/ Cryonics: Will These Bodies Come Back From Death? (The Atlantic) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YjrQVVSSbI Photo credit: Alcor ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

British Airways paid out one of the largest libel settlements in UK history on 11th January, 1993, for engaging in disreputable business practices, including shredding documents, poaching passages, and circulating hostile and discreditable stories about their upstart rival Virgin Airlines. The so-called Dirty Tricks revealed that British Airways had created a secret unit within a secure office in Gatwick dedicated to destroying Richard Branson’s new airline through a range of nefarious strategies. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss the sneaky activities that British Airways’ Helpline team were tasked with carrying out; explain how the murky story ended up in court; and reveal Richard Branson’s fool-proof single piece of advice for anyone who wants to become a millionaire… Further Reading: • ‘British Air to pay for “Dirty Tricks”’ (The Chicago Tribune, 1993): https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1993-01-12-9303161067-story.html • ‘British Airways Virgin Atlantic Dirty Tricks (1993)’ (Granada TV, 1993): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rm54xVyqBLI&t=7s #90s #Business #UK Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On 10th January, 1870 John D. Rockefeller took his first steps towards becoming the world’s richest ever person by forming his company, Standard Oil. He had arrived in the oil industry at a time of wild instability when oil refining was almost a cottage industry. Rockefeller quickly realised that if he had control over not just the refineries but also the output and distribution of refined oil he could keep prices as high as he liked – a mode of thinking that his critics and rivals declared monopolistic. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss what Rockerfeller was imagining oil might be useful for given cars hadn’t been invented yet; reveal how he bankrupted his competitors; and explain why Winston Churchill turned down an invitation to write Rockerfeller’s biography… Further Reading: • ‘Biography of John D. Rockefeller, America's First Billionaire’ (Thought Co, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/john-d-rockefeller-p2-1779821 • ‘John D. Rockefeller Was the Richest Person To Ever Live. Period’ (TSmithsonian Magazine, 2017): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/john-d-rockefeller-richest-person-ever-live-period-180961705/ • ‘William Hague on William Pitt’ (Cambridge University, 2010): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0tHmYEaqok #1800s #US #Business Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes”, the American statesman Benjamin Franklin once said, but until 9 January, 1799, taxation looked very different to the way it does today, because this was the day the world was first introduced to income tax. Its introduction by British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger was not one of his most popular innovations, but he had good reason to be wanting to bring more money into the government’s coffers, given the national debt had doubled during the American War of Independence and now stood at £243 million. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why there was a bonfire outside Westminster the day income tax was eventually repealed; marvel that taxation used to target the wealthy rather than the poor; and reveal why taxing farts is more sensible than it sounds… Further Reading: • ‘9 January 1799: income tax introduced to Britain’ (Money Week, 2021): https://moneyweek.com/372129/9-january-1799-income-tax-introduced-to-britain • ‘A short history of income tax’ (The Independent, 1995): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/a-short-history-of-income-tax-1577708.html • ‘William Hague on William Pitt’ (Cambridge University, 2010): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0tHmYEaqok #1700s #UK #Politics #Economics Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Roller skates, most readily associated with the 1970s, were actually first patented in the US on 6th January, 1863, by New York furniture salesman James Plimpton. Plimpton developed the shoes after being advised by his doctor to take up ice skating, yet finding himself with nowhere to skate in the Spring and Summer months. He guarded his innovation zealously, and created a leasing model for the novelty boots in specially sanctioned roller parks. America’s first ‘rinking’ craze - dubbed by the press “Rink-O-Mania!” - was born. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly learn about an earlier skate-maker, who literally ‘crashed the party’ in 1760s London; explain why roller-skating found a market in the prudish Victorian dating scene; and recall how the first ‘Roller Derbies’ would test their participants to grim exhaustion… Further Reading: • ‘Wonderful Things: Roller Skates, 1880’ (Science Museum, 2015): https://blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk/wonderful-things-roller-skates-1880/ • ‘Roller Skating in the 1900s - Hilarious Photos of Humanity on Wheels’ (The Vintage News, 2018): https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/10/03/photos-of-roller-skating-1900s/?edg-c=1 • ‘Charlie Chaplin in “The Rink”’ (Mutual Film Corporation, 1916): https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx9i4KwCz0Sz1pmewu_KA5fA8YdPEmoM4O #1800s #inventions We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week! Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

America's most notorious outlaws, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, first bonded over a cup of condensed milk hot chocolate on 5th January, 1930. The couple went on to traverse the States on a shooting spree, committing up to thirteen murders, before being ambushed and gunned down in Louisiana four years into their relationship. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how Barrow’s descent into criminality began with the most unlikely of offences; explain how the pair’s devotion to their families in Texas proved part of their undoing; and recall how their stolen Ford V8, ‘The Death Car’, spent 40 years as a travelling tourist attraction… Further Reading: • ‘Biography of Bonnie and Clyde, Depression-Era Outlaws’ (ThoughtCo, 2020): https://www.thoughtco.com/bonnie-and-clyde-1779278 • ‘Oddball Texas - A Guide to Some Really Strange Places, By Jerome Pohlen’ (Chicago Review Press, 2006): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Oddball_Texas/EPJ_0i9zNS8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=5th+january+1930+bonnie+clyde&pg=PA77&printsec=frontcover • ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ (Warner Bros, 1967): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhqRFP0535k #30s #Crime #US Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The world’s tallest tower - Dubai’s Burj Khalifa - had its grand opening ceremony on 4th January, 2010, heralded with the launch of 10,000 fireworks. Previously known as ‘Dubai Tower’, it was re-named at the last minute in tribute to the Sheik of Abu Dhabi, who’d bailed out the neighbouring Emirate with a $10billion loan. Despite being built on sand, the 160-storey structure is over half a mile tall - but that includes 244 metres of unusable space in the spire. It’s so high up that Ramadan begins two minutes earlier at the bottom than in the mosque at the top! In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the building’s architects avoided the tower being toppled by winds; consider the cost of the 22 million hours of mostly immigrant labour it took to construct; and explain why, despite its state of the art design, it still isn’t connected to Dubai’s wastewater system… Further Reading: ‘Economy Is Down, but Dubai Tower Tops All’ (The New York Times, 2010): https://archive.nytimes.com/dealbook.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/economy-is-down-but-dubai-tower-tops-all/?searchResultPosition=13 ‘The lost floors of Dubai's Burj Khalifa - why 200m of world's tallest building is empty’ (Daily Star, 2022): https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/lost-floors-dubais-burj-khalifa-26173492 ‘Richard Hammond: The Physics Behind The Burj Khalifa And Why It Doesn't Fall Over’ (Quest TV, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5i3UsiSoYY #UAE #Dubai #Architecture #2010s Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nazi propagandist William Joyce, best known to British radio listeners as ‘Lord Haw Haw’, was hanged by Albert Pierrepoint at Wandsworth Prison on 3rd January, 1946. At the peak of his powers, his anti-Allied broadcasts from Hamburg reached up to 50% of the UK listening public, who tuned in to hear the German perspective on the looming confrontations, correspondence from British prisoners of War, and Joyce’s compelling, menacing, yet gossipy delivery of Hitler’s aims and accomplishments. And a bit of Jazz. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how there were not just one, but in fact three ‘Lords Haw Haw’; consider how Joyce leaned into his celebrity status during World War II; and reveal how his fraudulently-obtained British passport helped to seal his fate on the hangman’s noose… Further Reading: ‘Treason law reform and the Lord Haw-Haw case 75 years on’ (House of Lords Library, 2020): https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/treason-law-reform-and-the-lord-haw-haw-case-75-years-on/ ‘Lord Haw-Haw: popularity of wartime Nazi propagandist made the BBC up its game’ (The Conversation, 2021): https://theconversation.com/lord-haw-haw-popularity-of-wartime-nazi-propagandist-made-the-bbc-up-its-game-150787#:~:text=Haw-Haw%2C%20wrote%20Hobson%2C%20had%20increased%20the%20nation%E2%80%99s%20Christmas,made%20an%20impact%20because%20he%20faced%20no%20contradiction. ‘Germany Calling: Lord Haw Haw’s Final Broadcast’ (Station Bremen, 1945): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe-THrWu_4I #40s #WW2 #Nazis #Germany Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Compilation. Happy New Year, Retrospectors! Before the show returns on January 3rd, Arion, Rebecca and Olly are taking one last look back at their favourite episodes from 2022. In ‘Eva Tanguay, Cyclonic Comedienne’, the team recall the events of 1st March, 1910, when the vaudeville megastar was arrested in Kentucky after stabbing a stagehand three times with a hat pin. Her edgy charisma, style and sexuality gave her a stellar career, coupled with suggestive lyrics and wild gossip calculated to keep her in the public eye. In ‘Captain Blood and the Crown Jewels’, we explain how fugitive Thomas Blood sneaked his way into the Tower of London’s jewel room on 9th May, 1671 – bludgeoning the 77 year-old Keeper of the Jewels, Talbot Edwards, in the process. The audacious and complex heist involved multiple pairs of white gloves, a fake nephew and stuffing an orb down his trousers. Finally, in ‘Finger Lickin’ Lawsuit’, the Retrospectors recount the events of 14th March, 1978, when Colonel Sanders was at legal loggerheads with the owners of KFC over his constant criticism of their food. As franchises were being rolled out worldwide, Sanders described the new batter as "a damn fried doughball stuck on some chicken", and the iteration of his gravy as "God-damned slop"... Further Reading: • ‘Attempt to steal the Crown Jewels’ (The National Archives): https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/significant-events/attempt-to-steal-the-crown-jewels/ • ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken of Bowling Green, Inc. v. Sanders’ (Supreme Court of Kentucky, 1978): https://law.justia.com/cases/kentucky/supreme-court/1978/563-s-w-2d-8-1.html • ‘Eva Tanguay sings ‘I Don't Care’’ (Nordskog, 1922): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zte2sDJ0rys Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy Holidays! Arion, Rebecca and Olly will be back with more cracking ‘Today in History’ content from January 3rd 2023… but in the meantime, it’s time to wrap the year with the Pub Quiz that ONLY makes sense if you’ve doggedly revised everything we’ve discussed for the past 51 weeks. It’s Arion vs Rebecca as Olly tests their knowledge on subjects as diverse as Ozzy Osbourne, blade-stropping and Milton Hershey’s middle name. Can Rebecca keep her crown from 2021? Does Arion’s attempt to get his rivals drunk pay dividends? And for which iconic TV show was the pilot episode called ‘Ned’s Bicycle’? The Retrospectors reveal all. Thanks so much for listening to the show this year. If you’ve enjoyed what we’ve done, pretty please leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts - it really helps others discover the show: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/today-in-history-with-the-retrospectors/id1564093130 And if you want even more to listen to over the festive period - that’s weekly, full-length Sunday episodes, an ad-free feed, and over 75 bonus bits of content unlocked immediately - join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴for less than £1 per week, and support our independent podcast: join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun. The first string of lights festooned upon a tree dazzled visitors to the New York home of Edward Johnson, Vice President of the Edison Electric Light Company, on 22nd December, 1882. Lit patriotic red, white and blue, the tree also revolved; wowing a reporter from The Detroit Post and Tribune. “At the rear of the beautiful parlors, was a large Christmas tree presenting a most picturesque and uncanny aspect,” he wrote. “It was brilliantly lighted with… eighty lights in all encased in these dainty glass eggs… One can hardly imagine anything prettier.” In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal what electric lights have in common with potatoes; ask why Americans were frightened of wired bulbs yet quite content to set candles on fire and attach them to flammable resin in their own homes; and untangle how a failed patent application was responsible for the trend finally catching on… Further Reading: ‘Untangling the History of Christmas Lights’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2016): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/untangling-history-christmas-lights-180961140/ ‘Who Invented Christmas Lights?’ (PBS, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qB61a_qbuo ‘Thomas Edison planned to invent a machine to talk to the dead’ (weirdhistorian, 2016): https://www.weirdhistorian.com/thomas-edison-talked-to-the-dead/ ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Melancholic Elvis pastiche ‘Lonely This Christmas’, by glam rockers Mud, became the UK’s Christmas No. 1 hit on 21st December, 1974, beating off festive competition from top 70s popsters Gilbert O’ Sullivan, The Goodies, and The Wombles. Despite its continuing popularity in Britain, there remains a widespread misconception that the track was actually sung by Elvis Presley, rather than Les Gray doing an impersonation of him. Even though Elvis himself had a song in the Top 10 at the same time. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain Basil Brush’s role in making Mud true contenders; explain why the band appeared on ‘Top Of The Pops’ with a ventriloquist’s dummy; and consider the valuable role of downbeat pop in the Christmas charts… Further Reading: • ‘Lonely This Christmas: Mud’s Fantastic Wallow In Festive Misery’ (Dig!): https://www.thisisdig.com/feature/lonely-this-christmas-mud-song/#:~:text=Lonely%20This%20Christmas%20wasn%E2%80%99t%20just%20iconic%20in%20terms,huge%20amounts%20of%20fake%20snow%20over%20the%20group. • ‘1,000 UK Number One Hits By Jon Kutner & Spencer Leigh’ (Omnibus Press, 2010): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/1_000_UK_Number_One_Hits/BwwLBaH9488C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=les+gray+%2B+lonely+this+christmas+%2B+number+1&pg=PT526&printsec=frontcover • ‘Mud - Lonely This Christmas’ (BBC Top Of The Pops, 1974): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a61sUu5rcu8 #Christmas #Music #70s #UK Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The ‘Frost Fair’, held on the frozen River Thames, caused a sensation on 20th December, 1683, when all London society, from Charles II down, came out to enjoy a bacchanalian Christmas on the ice. The festivities were a great relief for a nation riddled with smallpox, and enduring what was possibly Britain’s coldest ever Winter. Among the entertainments on offer were fox-hunting, cock-fighting, sledding, coach-racing, pop-up barbers, barbecues and public houses, and, um, a lot of sex workers. Plus something called ‘Dutch Whimsy’. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why the monarch’s attendance at the event was so important to the capital’s watermen; reveal how printed souvenirs came to be THE must-have keepsake from the fair; and explain how the ‘new’ London Bridge ruined all the frost fair fun… Further Reading: • ‘The Great Frost Fair of 1683-4’ (History Today, 1960): https://www.historytoday.com/archive/feature/great-frost-fair-1683-4 • ‘A Carnival on the Water: the Frost Fair of 1683’ (British Library, 2017) : https://blogs.bl.uk/untoldlives/2017/05/a-carnival-on-the-water-the-frost-fair-of-1683.html • ‘Frost Fairs: London's Frozen Thames’ (Museum of London, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM923V4G6zs #1600s #London #Christmas Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Charles Dickens’ novella ‘A Christmas Carol’ was written in just six weeks, and published on 19th December, 1843. The timeless story, which introduced the world to Ebeneezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, was conceived in part to get its author out of a sticky financial situation. Dickens’ other motive was to put into an accessible fable the political ideas that had formed the core of his proposed pamphlet, ‘An Appeal to the People of England on behalf of the Poor Man's Child’. In so doing, he re-focussed the Christmas message around charitable giving and kindness for generations. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Dickens plundered his own back-catalogue to surface some ‘Christmas goblins’; consider whether the book-buying public truly understood the intended message of his work; and reveal why his determination to produce it in an affordable edition hit him in the pocket… Further Reading: • ‘A Christmas Carol: The True History Behind the Dickens Story’ (Time, 2021): https://time.com/4597964/history-charles-dickens-christmas-carol/ • ‘How did A Christmas Carol come to be?’ (BBC Culture, 2017): https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20171215-how-did-a-christmas-carol-come-to-be • "What day is it?" (George C. Scott - A Christmas Carol - 1984): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO17UOjcovg #Victorian #Books #Christmas Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

30 Avenue Montaigne, Christian Dior’s atelier in Paris, opened its doors on 16th December 1946. His staff had just six weeks to get it ready for their first show on February 12th, 1947 - the landmark post-war collection that became known as ‘the New Look’. Bettina Ballard, fashion editor of Vogue, wrote: “Never has there been a moment more climatically right for a Napoleon, an Alexander the Great, a Caesar of the couture. Paris fashion was waiting to be seized and shaken and given direction. There has never been an easier or more complete conquest than that of Christian Dior in 1947." In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick Dior’s business decisions; explain how a connection with the British Royal family was cultivated and exploited to promote his nascent brand; and consider why he became known as ‘the tyrant of hemlines’... Further Reading: • ‘Christian Dior: The New Look’ (The Metrolpolitan Museum of Art): https://artsandculture.google.com/story/kwWhkHJ-Ok8UIg?hl=en • ‘Christian Dior - The Man who Made the World Look New, By Marie France Pochna’ (Arcade Publishing, 1996): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Christian_Dior/ffkK4dy00SoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=30+Avenue+Montaigne&pg=PA113&printsec=frontcover • ‘“Haute-Couture”: The world of Monsieur Dior in his own words’ (Dir. Henri A. Lavorel, 1949): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZESWE3myVLk #40s #Fashion #LGBT #France We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week! Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun. Napoleon was buried in an unmarked grave in St. Helena. But, 19 years later, on 15th December, 1840, he got buried again: this time at Les Invalides, Paris. It was an ornate state occasion, involving multiple caskets, 500 sailors, 14 semi-naked female statues... and a lot of lardy cakes. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal what Napoleon’s cadaver looked like; explain why a previous petition to relocate his remains had failed; and discover an unexpectedly culinary description of the day from The Sunday Times… Further Reading: • ‘Bring Him Home: How Napoleon Bonaparte’s delayed funeral came to be’ (Lapham’s Quarterly, 2020): https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/bring-him-home • ‘Napoleon’s legacy: ashes, tombs and DNA’ (National Geographic, 2010): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/napoleons-legacy • ‘Secrets of Les Invalides: Home to war veterans and Napoleon’ (France 24, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA4uvmiPVUQ ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lionel Bart’s musical ‘La Strada’, based on the hit Fellini film, suffered the ignominy of closing after its opening night in New York on 14th December, 1969, losing $650,000. Heroin addict Bart never made it over to the States for the previews, during which time his songs were chopped and changed to such an extent that on opening night a Playbill could not be produced, because it would have been full of inaccuracies. In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca reflect on what went wrong; revisit Bart’s earlier flop, Robin Hood musical Twang!!, and check out the opening night reviews that killed La Strada, which, all things considered, aren’t *that* bad… Further Reading: • ‘Broadway’s Top Ten Musical Flops’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2011): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/broadways-top-ten-musical-flops-169390390/ • ‘Before Lloyd Webber: how La Strada became one of the biggest flops in theatre history’ (Telegraph, 2017): https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/lloyd-webber-la-strada-became-one-biggest-flops-theatre-history/ •’Madeline Bell - Belonging’ (from the musical ‘La Strada’, 1969): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8nQYx7C2_k #Broadway #1960s #Theatre Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Celestine V rocked the Catholic world on 13th December, 1294, when he stood up, gave a short speech, stripped himself of his Papal insignia and resigned the Pontificate. He was 79 years old, and had been Pope for just 15 weeks. Previously a well-regarded hermit who’d lived a humble life in the mountains, he got the gig after writing a letter to the conclave, urging them to choose a new Pope soon, lest they incur God’s wrath. He had never considered that the Cardinals would respond by offering the job to him. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why medieval Papal elections sometimes took years to conclude; reveal how Charles II of Naples was pulling the strings behind the scenes; and recall how Dante responded to Celestine’s controversial ‘Great Refusal’... Further Reading: • ‘The Pope Who Quit: A True Medieval Tale of Mystery, Death, and Salvation, By Jon M. Sweeney’ (Crown Publishing Group, 2012): `https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Pope_Who_Quit/dnp-eTkoAmkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=resignation+of+Celestine+V&printsec=frontcover • ‘In the Entire History of the Catholic Church, Only a Handful of Popes Have Resigned’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2013): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-the-entire-history-of-the-catholic-church-only-a-handful-of-popes-have-resigned-14734771/ • ‘Pope Celestine V, the last pope to resign before Benedict XVI’ (EWTN, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4RSo6D076s #Catholic #Italy #Medieval #Religion Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Winona Ryder was arrested for shoplifting from Saks Fifth Avenue, Beverly Hills on 12th December, 2001. Amongst the products she had stuffed into her hat was a Marc Jacobs sweater worth $760, and Frederic Fekkai hair adornments listed at $600. At first, the Oscar nominated actress claimed she had been under the impression that her assistant would pay for the items later. Then, she said she had stolen them as research for a forthcoming role. But in court, the security guards said they’d seen Ryder clipping the tags off some items with scissors. She got 500 hours of Community Service, and her career was derailed for a decade. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether Saks leveraged the opportunity for publicity purposes; examine the strange composition of the jury who decided Ryder’s fate; and ask if her appearance in a ‘Free Winona’ t-shirt was indulgent or amusing… Further Reading: • ‘A grass roots campaign to "free" Winona Ryder helps make $15 T-shirt LA's hottest style statement’ (British Vogue, 2002): https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/free-winona • ‘Ryder possessed 8 drugs during arrest, memo says’ (Chicago Tribune, 2002): https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2002-12-04-0212040374-story.html Winona Ryder Convicted of 2 Counts in Shoplifting - The New York Times (nytimes.com) • ‘America’s Dumbest Criminals’ (Channel 5, 2002): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unyKRYb7WPo #Hollywood #Crime #2000s Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Coronation Street, the world’s longest-running soap opera, first aired on 9th December, 1960. But only 13 episodes had been commissioned by Granada, following a torturous development process. Boss Sidney Bernstein remained far from convinced that the show would attract either audiences or advertisers for ITV. Created by 24 year-old Tony Warren, the new serial aimed to portray real lives on a suburban street in Salford. In his quest for authenticity, Warren intended to cast only Northern actors, and borrowed names for characters from gravestones he’d spotted in a Mancunian cemetery. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider why TV critics from the left-wing papers slated the show; reveal how Warren’s past as a child actor informed the casting of some iconic Corrie characters; and revisit the real street where the iconic opening sequence was initially filmed… Further Reading: • ‘Coronation Street used to depict a world that was already dying in 1960’ (The Independent, 2016): https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/coronation-street-used-to-depict-a-world-that-was-already-dying-in-1960-a6914521.html • ‘Coronation Street at 60: The real story of the Salford neighbourhoods that inspired the famous cobbles’ (Manchester Evening News, 2020): https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/coronation-street-anniversary-itv-history-19325571 • ‘Coronation Street, Episode One’ (Granada, 1960): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq-qudJGYPI But wait, there’s more! 🌴 CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴members can hear an EXTRA five minutes of chat about this legendary soap, just sign up to unlock this, Sunday episodes, and bonus content every single week 👇 #TV #60s #UK #Manchester We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week! Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Pope finally defined the dogma of The Immaculate Conception on 8th December, 1854; confirming that, in the view of the Catholic Church, Christ’s mother Mary had not only been ‘full of grace’, but was completely absent of sin even at her own conception. Even though this had been an unofficial concept for centuries prior, it still proved controversial, with 10% of Bishops believing it should not be adopted as doctrine. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly marvel at just how recently this fundamental principle of Catholicism was established; probe around in James, Brother of Jesus’ Oedipal memoirs; and look at the role of Marian devotion in the Madonna-Whore complex… Further Reading: • ‘Christianity: Immaculate Conception’ (BBC, 2011): https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/beliefs/immaculateconception.shtml • ‘Did Jesus Have Siblings?’ (Franciscan Media): https://www.franciscanmedia.org/ask-a-franciscan/did-jesus-have-siblings • ‘Pope Francis explains the Immaculate Conception’ (Catholic News Service, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCGZRGkTq3U Thanks so much for supporting the show! We massively appreciate it. The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer: Sophie King Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The most famous photograph of Earth - the ‘Blue Marble’ shot captured by NASA astronauts on Apollo 17 - was taken on 7th December, 1972. The deep blues of the ocean, the green continent of Africa, the yellow edges of the Arabian Peninsula, and the vast empty blackness all around our planet are memorably captured within it. But what can’t be said with certainty is who actually took it - as all three members of the crew have claimed they snapped the iconic image. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace the origins of this moment back to Stewart Brand’s counter-cultural ‘Whole Earth’ movement of the 1960s; explain how Jack Schmidt’s presence in the Apollo crew was scientifically groundbreaking; and reveal why the photo was flipped before it was printed on the front page of newspapers… Further Reading: • ‘The Blue Marble Shot: Our First Complete Photograph of Earth’ (The Atlantic, 2011): https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/04/the-blue-marble-shot-our-first-complete-photograph-of-earth/237167/ • ‘Stewart Brand's Whole Earth Catalog, the book that changed the world’ (The Guardian, 2013): https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/may/05/stewart-brand-whole-earth-catalog • ‘Our Blue Marble’ (The Obama White House, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwqLzSiFqlE #70s #Space #Photography Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Rolling Stones topped the bill at Altamont Speedway in Livermore, California on 6th December, 1969 - a free festival intended to rival the recent Woodstock in New York. But it was an organisational shambles, and turned deadly when an audience member was murdered. Notorious gang Hell’s Angels had been hired (allegedly in return for free beer) to provide ‘security’ for the event. They sat on a tiny stage, badly positioned in the pit of the racetrack, and attacked the crowds with billiard cues. Jefferson Airplane got pummeled. Mick Jagger was punched in the face. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the movie rights for Gimme Shelter lay behind the ill-judged decision to relocate the festival with just two days’ notice; evaluate the Stones’ limited commentary on the disarray, and 18 year old Meredith Hunter’s death; and consider whether this regrettable event really did represent ‘the end of the 60s’... Further Reading: ‘The Altamont Free Concert, A Deadly End To The Hippie Era In America’ (AllThatsInteresting, 2018): https://allthatsinteresting.com/altamont-speedway-free-concert ‘Remembering Meredith Hunter, the Fan Killed at Altamont’ (Rolling Stone, 2018): https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/remembering-meredith-hunter-the-fan-killed-at-altamont-630260/ • ‘Altamont Speedway Free Festival 12/6/1969’ (Concerts Rock, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C28jTm6zRB8 #60s #Music Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Christie held his first auction on 5th December, 1766 - billed as a sale of “genuine household furniture, jewels, plate, firearms, china and a large quantity of madeira and high flavoured claret” belonging to a “Noble Personage (deceased)”. His auction-house, Christie’s, went on to become one of the world’s leading dealers of fine art. But it took Christie many years to exploit this opportunity, which he accomplished partly by leveraging well-connected friends. His milieu included Richard Tattersall, Thomas Chipperfield, Thomas Gainsborough, Horace Walpole, Joshua Reynolds and David Garrick - a ‘Who’s Who’ of 18th century London once known as ‘Christie's Fraternity of Godparents’. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Christie innovated public viewings, product placement and sales technique; connect the dots between the French Revolution and Christie’s biggest successes; and reveal how much it costs to buy a two-headed taxidermied lamb… Further Reading: ‘James Christie: the eloquent auctioneer’ (Royal Academy of Arts, 2016): https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/article/james-christie-eloquent-auctioneer ‘Mr Christie, before Christie’s… His early days’ (Artprice, 2021): https://www.artprice.com/artmarketinsight/mr-christie-before-christies-his-early-days ‘Welcome to Christie’s’ (Christies, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ2kq20kK5U #1800s #Arts #Person Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sir Christopher Wren was officially appointed architect for the rebuilding of St Paul's Cathedral on 2nd December, 1697, though in truth he had been advising on it for some years already. Three decades later the celebrated British architect had produced a building that broke radically with the past, even if his original plans had to be adapted to the whims of the king, the clergy and the parliament. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider why Wren loved domes so much; reveal the true reason why battering rams are a better demolition tool than dynamite; and explain why the cathedral became the ultimate humble brag… Further Reading: • ‘St Paul's: The new church’ (Cassell, Petter & Galpin, 1878): https://www.british-history.ac.uk/old-new-london/vol1/pp249-262 • ‘A History of St. Paul's Cathedral in 60 Seconds’ (Culture Trip, 2018): https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/articles/st-pauls-cathedral-london/ • ‘Designing St Paul's - The Wren Office Drawings’ (St Paul's Cathedral, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skX-RXJnaWU #1600s #Architecture #UK We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week! Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun. Thousands of beer barrels were emptied into the streets across Lancashire on 1st December, 1900 - when it finally dawned on people that the cheap stout they’d been drinking with years was in fact contaminated with arsenic. Over 6,000 victims were poisoned, mostly across Manchester and Salford, thanks to the practice of padding out the barley used in the brew with inexpensive glucose syrup. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the role that the class system played in the initial diagnoses of mass ‘alcoholic multiple neuritis’; reveal the one company in the supply chain who eventually stumped up £136,000 compensation; and explain how general elections were believed to push the general public into the public houses… Further Reading: • ‘The Lancet’ covers the news (1900): https://www.sciencedirect.com/sdfe/pdf/download/eid/1-s2.0-S014067360189036X/first-page-pdf • ‘The 1900 arsenic poisoning epidemic’ (from the Journal of the Brewery History Society): http://www.breweryhistory.com/journal/archive/130/Arsenic.pdf • ‘Arsenic: The Most Popular Poison In Victorian Britain’ (Victorian Pharmacy, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93XYE56KwSk ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On 30th November, 1803 a surgeon called Dr Francisco Javier de Balmis left Spain at the head of the world's first ever international public health expedition. His ship was bound for the New World, supplied with smallpox vaccines. But the vaccines weren't in syringes or in vials, they were inside the 22 orphans who were on the ship with him. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look into how the first smallpox vaccines worked; revisit how Javier de Balmis’s unusual approach helped eradicate the disease; and discuss whether popping pustules is better than inhaling scabs… Further Reading: • ‘Exhibition tells story of Spanish children used as vaccine ‘fridges’ in 1803’ (The Guardian, 2021): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/27/spanish-museum-celebrates-pioneer-who-took-smallpox-vaccine-to-colonies • ‘Balmis Expedition: How Orphans Took The Smallpox Vaccine Around The World’ (Amusing Planet, 2021): https://www.amusingplanet.com/2020/12/balmis-expedition-how-orphans-took.html • ‘22 Orphans Gave Up Everything to Distribute the World’s First Vaccine’ (Atlantic, 2021): https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/01/orphans-smallpox-vaccine-distribution/617646/ • ‘What Was A Horrible Way Of Transporting Smallpox Vaccine?’ (QI, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_U7Ms4aKts #1800s #Americas #Medicine #Strange Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shortly after US president John F. Kennedy was shot dead, the Warren Commission was convened on 29th November, 1963 to answer the question on everybody’s lips: who did this and why? The shooting of America’s young president was a moment of trauma for many Americans, but when the commission returned its findings, most people were happy with their conclusions. However, as the years progressed conspiratorial thinking increasingly began to take hold. By the end of the 1970s, 81% of people surveyed believed that the murder of Kennedy was a result of a conspiracy. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss why people stopped believing the official story they had been told; investigate why many people believe the CIA has continually tried to obfuscate the true story; and reveal whether the assassination was the work of mob bosses, Cubans, Soviets, the CIA or all of the above… Further Reading: • ‘Warren Commission’ (History.com, 2018): https://www.history.com/topics/1960s/warren-commission • ‘Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy’ (GovInfo, 1963): https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GPO-WARRENCOMMISSIONREPORT • ‘Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy’ (LibriVox, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKA4erybBH8 #US #60s #Crime #Mystery Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Towards the end of 1983, frenzied parents battled with one another in stores across the US in a desperate bid to buy their children the toy of the moment, the Cabbage Patch Kid. The so-called Cabbage Patch Riots culminated on 28th November 1983 at a Zayre department store in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, when a melee broke out that was so intense a store manager grabbed a baseball bat to protect himself, police dispersed the crowds and four people ended up in hospital. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss why Cabbage Patch Kids were in such short supply; look into why the toys had their inventor’s name emblazoned on their bottoms; and reveal the true story of how Cabbage Patch dolls came into being… Further Reading: • ‘The Not-So-Sweet Truth About Cabbage Patch Kids’ (Good Housekeeping, 2015): https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/a32201/cabbage-patch-dolls-history/ • ‘The strange story of the Cabbage Patch Kid Riots of 1983’ (ABC, 2022): https://abc7ny.com/cabbage-patch-dolls-crazy-riot-the-vault/5713681/ • ‘Tales from the Cabbage Patch Riots of 1983’ (Pixel Dan, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpa5IZiAfC0 #US #80s #Strange #Toys Picture: Flickr/Benjamin Gray Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elián González was just five years old when he was found clinging to an inner tube off the coast of Florida on 25th November, 1999. His mother, step-father, and all the other Cuban migrants who had been attempting to cross to the United States with him were lost at sea. Elián’s future then became a matter of high-stakes diplomacy between the two Cold War countries: should he be granted residency with his extended family in Little Havana, or returned back to actual Havana to the arms of his father? In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the intense 24-hour news cycle that took hold over this seemingly small story; explain why even Gloria Estefan got caught up in the furore; and reveal how Alan Diaz went about taking his Pulitzer prize-winning photo of the FBI raid on Elián’s uncle’s home… Further Reading: • ‘Elián González: How Cuba and the U.S. fought over a child in an international tug-of-war’ (The Washington Post, 2019): https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/11/25/federal-agents-seized-year-old-elin-gonzlez-gunpoint-custody-battle-raged-months/ • ‘Opinion | The Future of Elián González’ (The New York Times, 1999): https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/30/opinion/the-future-of-elian-gonzalez.html?searchResultPosition=4 • ‘Elián González Believes He Would Have Been Used To Make Cuba Look Bad’ (CBS, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEgjpOK9t64 #US #90s #Cuba We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week! Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun. It took over three million years to find her. But palaeontologists Donald Johanson and Tom Gray uncovered the remains of ‘the Lucy Fossil’ - a previously undiscovered species of pre-human - in Hadar, Ethiopia on 24th November, 1974. Despite the find’s massive significance, the event was not greeted with untrammelled joy by all their rival fossil hunters. Some - who had wanted to claim such a discovery for themselves - began publicly disputing that Lucy was indeed a missing link in the evolution of humankind. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how Lucy received her rock n’ roll name; explain how her tiny brain but upright walking turned previous scientific thinking on its head; and consider whether, actually, “Captain Caveman was quite accurate”... Further Reading: • ‘Nov. 24, 1974: Humanity, Meet Lucy. She's Your Mom’ (WIRED, 2009): https://www.wired.com/2009/11/1124lucy-discovered/ • ‘Lucy and the Leakeys’ (Khan Academy): https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/big-history-project/early-humans/how-ancestors-evolved/a/lucy-and-the-leakeys • ‘Donald Johanson: Discovering the Fossil “Lucy”’ (Freedom From Religion Foundation, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AX4eqqBcIM ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The ‘Nickel In The Slot Player’ - the world’s first jukebox - made its debut at the Palais Royale Saloon bar in San Francisco on 23rd November, 1889. Created by Louis Glass and William S. Arnold, the contraption was an Edison Class M wax cylinder phonograph fitted with a coin mechanism and four stethoscope-like listening tubes, each operated individually and activated when a patron put a nickel in the slot. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the pianola still had the upper hand for decades to come; reveal how this new-fangled gadget paved the way for 1970s game arcades; and consider how, for African-American musicians in particular, the evolution of the jukebox was a game-changer… Further Reading: • ‘Nov. 23, 1889: S.F. Gin Joint Hears World's First Jukebox’ (WIRED, 2010): https://www.wired.com/2010/11/1123first-jukebox/ • ‘Jukeboxes: An American Social History - By Kerry Segrave’ (McFarland, 2015): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Jukeboxes/SC21CgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=jukebox+%2B+palais&pg=PA5&printsec=frontcover • ‘Automation Hits The Orchestra’ (British Pathé, 1958): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i9IyJ3n0cs&t=2s #Inventions #Music Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

History’s most notorious pirate, Edward ‘Blackbeard’ Teach, was killed and decapitated by lieutenant Robert Maynard, who besieged Blackbeard’s boats in Ocracoke on 22nd November, 1718. Now recalled as a fearsome and gratuitous murderer, Blackbeard’s demonic character is not documented in contemporary sources. In fact, very little is truly known about Teach (even, indeed, whether that was his real name), apart from the fact he a) had a beard, b) was from Bristol, and c) was very good at pirating. But his formidable reputation of setting his beard on fire and rampaging his way round the high seas was sealed by the swashbuckling tales published after his death. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how Daniel Defoe may be linked with the Blackbeard cult; rate the pirate’s expertise at cultivating psychological warfare; and unearth the story of Stede Bonnet, ‘the worst pirate of all time’... Further Reading: • ‘Here's How Blackbeard the Pirate Really Died 300 Years Ago’ (Time, 2018): https://time.com/5457008/blackbeard-death/ • ‘Blackbeard | Edward Teach's Life, Death & Legend’ (HistoryExtra, 2022): https://www.historyextra.com/period/stuart/blackbeard-edward-teach-real-name-death-burning-beard/ • ‘Horrible Histories: The Blackbeard Song’ (CBBC, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2IaNvAmBzU #1700s #Pirates #Person Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

La Ronde, the USA’s first revolving restaurant, opened on 21st November, 1961, at the Ala Moana Center in Honolulu. On the menu in the 298ft-tall tower was shrimp cocktail, mahi-mahi, and ‘the Queen of beefdom’. It had a predecessor, though, in perhaps an unlikely city: post-war Dortmund, Germany. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace the origins of rotating restaurants back to Ancient Rome (of course); recall Elvis Presley’s role in furthering the popularity of high-rise revolving dining at the Space Needle; and consider the particular appeal of ‘high attractions in low rise cities’... But wait! There’s more! To unlock another FIVE MINUTES of this episode, join 🌴 CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴- and get bonus bits each week, plus full-length ad-free Sunday episodes! This week, the Retrospectors discuss who invented the revolving restaurant, and reveal the best place in the world to get a Dirty Martini. Further Reading: • ‘A Moveable Feast: A Brief History of the Revolving Restaurant’ (Duck Pie, 2014): https://duckpie.com/2014/05/02/a-moveable-feast-a-brief-history-of-the-revolving-restaurant/ • ‘Revolving Architecture: A History of Buildings That Rotate, Swivel, and Pivot - By Chad Randl’ (Princeton Architectural Press, 2008): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Revolving_Architecture/H8gAaZj2e-AC?q=sky+view&gbpv=1#f=false • ‘Top of Waikiki Revolving Restaurant View’ (Life Is Amazing, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYOUofNjFU4 #1960s #Germany #Strange #Food #WorldsFair Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The official trailer for ‘The Phantom Menace’ was uploaded to the Star Wars website on 18th November, 1998 - a reaction to the franchise’s rabid fans leaking their own camcorder footage to the web. It was the first time that an online preview of a movie trailer became a significant event in its own right. The trailer had been released into North American cinemas the day before, ahead of select screenings of ‘Meet Joe Black’, ‘The Heist’ and ‘The Waterboy’. Variety reported a lunch-time showing in L.A. for which as many as two-thirds of the audience attending had bought their ticket purely to view the highly-anticipated Star Wars trailer. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the glitchy, scratchy, pre-YouTube world of online trailer distribution; reveal how LucasFilm partnered with Apple to sprinkle some of their fairy-dust over a QuickTime product launch; and explain why the fan reaction to this iconic trailer remains more enthusiastic than for the actual film concerned… Further Reading: • ‘Anticipation: The Real Life Story of Star Wars: Episode I-The Phantom Menace, By Jonathan L. Bowen’ (iUniverse, 2005): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Anticipation/S7HqPbh3uI4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=phantom+menace+trailer+%22november+18%22+%22lucasfilm%22+%22bandwidth%22&pg=PA23&printsec=frontcover • ‘How Star Wars and the internet changed movie trailers’ (The Verge, 2015): https://www.theverge.com/2015/12/10/9882404/star-wars-trailers-movie-marketing-youtube-disney • ‘Trailer: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace’ (Lucasfilm, 1998): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD7bpG-zDJQ&t=105s #Film #90s #Internet We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week! Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun. Mehmet VI stepped on to a British warship to seek refuge in Malta on 17th November, 1922 - thereby becoming the last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, a dynasty stretching back to the 14th Century. He was accompanied by his first Chamberlain, his doctor, two secretaries, a velt, a barber, two eunuchs, and a bandmaster. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly dig into the archives to see how the event was portrayed in the triumphant West; consider the fate of the Royals left behind in modern-day Turkey; and ponder what ‘cautiously optimistic exile music’ might sound like... Further Reading: • ‘Great Ottoman Empire in Turkey’ (Go Turkey Tourism): https://www.goturkeytourism.com/about-turkey/great-ottoman-empire-in-turkey.html • ‘CONSTANTINOPLE 1922-1923, WHERE NOTHING HAPPENS AS ONE EXPECTS’, (Major P A J Wright OBE, The Guards Magazine, 2016): http://guardsmagazine.com/features/Autumn2016/16autumn_04Constantinople.html • ‘Ten Minute History - The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Birth of the Balkans’ (History Matters, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96n33WWgE9g ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why did Ivan The Terrible kill his son, Ivan? Ever since the day he supposedly brought a sceptre crashing down upon his head - 16th November, 1581 - this question has divided people. Did he suspect his son of a plot to overthrow him? Was he sexually assaulting his daughter-in-law? Was the whole tale dreamt up as a Catholic plot? It’s a controversy that remains a live issue in Russia, resulting in Ilya Repin's iconic painting ‘Ivan the Terrible and his Son Ivan’ being vandalized not once, but twice; and a campaign, supported by no less than Vladimir Putin, to restore Ivan’s reputation as, um… ‘Ivan the Not-So Terrible’? In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the various theories surrounding this much-debated event; question if an arthritic quinquagenarian was capable of such physical brutality; and expose Ivan’s lesser-known poetic qualities… CONTENT WARNING: graphic descriptions of murder Further Reading: • ‘What Was So Terrible About Ivan the Terrible?’ (HowStuffWorks, 2020): https://history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/ivan-terrible.htm#:~:text=The%20boyars%20were%20clannish%20landowners%2C%20upper-crust%20types%20who,It%20was%20a%20sign%20of%20things%20to%20come. • ‘Russia's first monument to Ivan the Terrible inaugurated’ (The Guardian, 2016): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/14/russias-first-monument-to-ivan-the-terrible-inaugurated • ‘Ivan the Terrible and his Son Ivan’ (The Canvas, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwbWwvHDeb4 #Russia #1500s Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

King C. Gillette was granted a US patent for a “safety razor” on November 15th, 1904 - kickstarting both the disposable grooming industry, and the notorious ‘razor and blades’ business model. Prior to his invention, men who shaved at home would have to strop their blades on a big leather strap, and occasionally take their razors to a cutler to have them returned to their original sharpness. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Gillette savvily used Army contracts to establish his brand across America; reveal how scientists at MIT told him his product design was simply impossible; and recall how he exploited TV advertising to reframe the conversation around male grooming… Further Reading: • ‘The History of Gillette and Schick Razors’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-razors-and-shaving-4070036 • ‘Gillette’s Strange History with the Razor and Blade Strategy’ (HBR, 2010): https://hbr.org/2010/09/gillettes-strange-history-with • ‘Gillette: The Best A Man Can Get’ (Gillette, 1989): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThDBf14qPsc … want even more? In this week’s bonus bit, exclusively for 🌴 CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴members, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Gillette’s disposable razors came to be stacked within the very walls of houses across America; consider King Gillette’s unexpected flirtation with Communism; and reveal how corporate competition from Wilkinson Sword demeaned Gillette’s green credentials yet further… get this and exclusive Sunday episodes by joining 🌴 CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 now! #Inventions #1900s We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Royal Wedding between Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips on 14th November, 1973 was a lavish affair at Westminster Abbey, with an anticipated global audience of 500 million - but the 23 year-old daughter of the Queen was clearly awkward about being the centre of attention, and asked to be only filmed from behind. Labelled ‘Princess Sourpuss’ by some of the tabloids, the public had yet to warm to Anne’s devotion to public service, love of horses and reticence to engage with the limelight. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly unpick their favourite ‘facts’ from the exhaustive eight-hour TV coverage of this event; explain why it was bad form to mention sausages at the wedding reception; and revisit Prince Philip’s most quotable line about Anne: “if it doesn’t fart, or eat hay, she isn’t interested”... Further Reading: • ‘Royal Wedding Fever’ (The Observer, 1973): https://www.theguardian.com/news/2014/oct/12/from-the-observer-archive-14-october-1973-royal-wedding-fever • ‘Princess Anne Married Mark Phillips 47 Years Ago’ (People, 2020): https://people.com/royals/on-this-day-in-royal-history-princess-anne-married-mark-phillips/ • ‘THE ROYAL WEDDING (COLOUR)’ (Movietone, 1973): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMsr7xfwoYc&t=3s #Royals #Wedding #70s Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Britain's first ‘New Town’, built to accommodate 60,000 residents, was Stevenage, Hertfordshire - designated on 11th November, 1946 by Lewis Silkin, Labour’s Minister for Town and Country Planning. Inspired by the rush to accommodate Londoners displaced by the Nazi bombing of the capital, the construction of the concrete metropolis was heavily opposed by the 6,400 residents of ‘Old Stevenage’, the ancient town that was to be superseded. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace Silkin’s vision back to a 1695 essay by Quaker reformer John Bellers; ask whether the concrete-clad aesthetic of the architecture was a terrible mistake; and re-live nostalgic trips to play laser tag in the leisure park… Further Reading: • ‘Stevenage New Town’ (Stevenage Museum, 2022): https://www.stevenage.gov.uk/stevenage-museum/history-of-stevenage/stevenage-through-the-ages/stevenage-new-town • ‘Stevenage: The town that aimed for Utopia’ (BBC News, 2016): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-37826783 • ’Mr. Silkin Goes To Stevenage’ (British Pathé, 1946): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txHbMusO33o #40s #UK #Architecture #Design We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week! Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun. In the early days of advertising, tyre company Goodyear sent a giant tyre on a coast-to-coast publicity trip. It was photographed on 42nd Street, New York on 10th November, 1930. Was this the birth of the ‘big things’ phenomenon that has lead us to roadside giant prawns, record-breaking sausages, and Instagrammable statues of Jeff Goldblum? Perhaps. We’ll go with it, anyway. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how Goodyear’s publicity nous went beyond photo opportunities and into their very origin story; explain why press agent Harry Reichenbach once brought a lion into a New York hotel room; and discover how Australia’s love affair with the Big Banana, the Big Prawn and the Big Peg came to be… Further Reading: • The photo that inspired this episode - 42nd Street, New York, 1930 (excerpted from ‘Curious Moments’, published by Konemann, 1999): https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FDv1k7TXsAILXh7?format=jpg&name=large • ‘Most Ridiculous Ways Anyone Ever Promoted A Movie’ (Grunge, 2017): https://www.grunge.com/42153/ridiculous-ways-anyone-ever-promoted-movie/ • ‘The World: Australia's BIG Things’ (PRX, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=178HL72VnTA ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Prince Tokugawa Yoshinobu (徳川 慶喜) was the 15th and last shōgun of the Tokugawa shōgunate of Japan. On November 9, 1867, Yoshinobu tendered his resignation to the Emperor. This restored traditional rule for the first time in over 250 years, yet also progressively reformed the country; ushering in the Meiji era, under an Emperor who was just 14 years old. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the country’s policy of isolationism had come to be tested - first by Portugese, then Dutch, and then American interlocutors; explain why this tumultuous transition of power split the urban and rural Japanese; and consider why even bloody uprisings look nice in screen-print… Further Reading: • ‘From Meiji to Modernity: How Japan Reinvented Itself Through The 20th Century’ (HistoryExtra, 2021): https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/japan-traditional-reinvention-20th-century/ • ‘Meiji Restoration: Edo Period & Tokugawa Shogunate’ (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/topics/japan/meiji-restoration • ‘Tokugawa Yoshinobu : The Last Shōgun’: (JAPANquickies, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yU6uY042IBI … want even more? In this week’s bonus bit, exclusively for 🌴 CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴members, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss how the end of the shogunate changed Sumurai hairstyles, evolved the Army so it was able to score victory over Russia, and precipitated the global recognition of Japan as one of the big five powers in the world… get this and exclusive Sunday episodes by joining 🌴 CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 now. Thanks so much for supporting the show! We massively appreciate it. The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer: Sophie King Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Guy Fawkes has gone down in history as the most-remembered figure from the thwarted 17th century plot to blow up the House of Lords and kill King James I. But the ringleader of this attempted terror attack was actually Warwickshireman Robert Catesby, who was shot and killed in Staffordshire on 8th November, 1605. This Catholic extremist, who had seen his father imprisoned for practicing his religion and sheltering priests, supposedly died clutching a portrait of the Virgin Mary. He was then decapitated; his head brought back to London to be placed on the side of Parliament House. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly dabble in a bit of recusancy; explore the considerable repression that English Catholics were living with during this period; and consider how Catesby used his class and charm to coalesce his group of co-conspirators into the gunpowder plot that very nearly exploded the government… Further Reading: • ‘Robert Catesby, by Marilee Hanson’ (English History, 2022): https://englishhistory.net/stuarts/robert-catesby/ • ‘A History of Treason: The bloody history of Britain through the stories of its most notorious traitors’ (The National Archives / John Blake Publishing, 2022): https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=p9SUEAAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PT168&dq=8th+november+catesby&hl=en&source=newbks_fb&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false • ‘Gunpowder Plot – Stories from Parliament’ (UK Parliament, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YptNONmnXH0&t=0s #1600s #Catholic #UK #Crime #Politics Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why are the Republican Party represented by an elephant, and the Democrats (unofficially) by a donkey? The answer lies in the work of revered political cartoonist Thomas Nast, whose picture ‘Third Term Panic’ was published in Harper's Weekly on 7th November, 1874 - the day before the mid-terms. His Aesop-style symbolism is rather tricky for modern readers to untangle, but the satiric thrust of this particular cartoon related to news that President Ulysses S. Grant was considering running for an unprecedented third term in office. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why 19th century political cartoonists were so influential; consider whether Nast’s view of the Irish corresponded with his more enlightened views on African-Americans; and reveal how Andrew Jackson reclaimed his portrayal as a ‘jackass’ and turned it into a political positive… Further Reading: • ‘Thomas Nast: The Father of Modern Political Cartoons by Fiona Deans Halloran’ (University of North Carolina Press, 2012): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Thomas_Nast/HlX6kAxzyRYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=thomas+nast+elephant&printsec=frontcover • ‘Why are an elephant and a donkey the Republican and Democratic party symbols?’ (The Sun, 2020): https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/12977208/elephant-republican-donkey-democratic-party-symbols-elections/ • ‘Elephant or Donkey? How Animals Became U.S. Political Symbols’ (National Geographic, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5MmEfkli9o #1800s #US #Politics #Publishing Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the first big-screen adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s best-selling book series, had its premiere in London's Leicester Square on November 4th, 2001. Among the glittering guest list were Sting, Cliff Richard, and the Duchess of York, but Baby Spice spoke for all of us when she told reporters “I don’t know what to expect, but I'm really excited!” In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore why Warner Bros was so nervous about bringing Harry Potter to the big screen; look into how Steven Spielberg imagined the film when he was briefly attached to the project; and discuss how Daniel Radcliffe was given the title role ahead of 60,000 other boys who had auditioned for it… Further Reading: • ‘Charmed 'Harry Potter' Is Poised to Set New Records’ (The New York Times, 2001): https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/23/movies/charmed-harry-potter-is-poised-to-set-new-records.html?searchResultPosition=164 • ‘Chris Columbus Interview: Harry Potter 20th Anniversary’ (Screen Rant, 2021): https://screenrant.com/harry-potter-20th-anniversary-chris-columbus-interview/ • ‘From the archives: The Chatterley trial’ (Spectator, 2010): https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/from-the-archives-the-chatterley-trial • ‘The Original Harry Potter ScreenTests that Started it all - Daniel Radcliffe’ (No1 Potterhead, 2000): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WqhS5o52T4 #2000s #Film #Arts #UK We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week! Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun. Attending or producing raves was made illegal in Britain with the passing of the Criminal Justice Act on 3rd November, 1994. The government even legislated against electronic dance music, “wholly or predominantly characterized by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats” These unprecedented restrictions were partly in reaction to the moral panic caused after a 'free party' at Castlemorton Common attracted 30,000-40,000 attendees, and the ire of the tabloid press. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the provenance of ‘revellers’ in the raver’s lexicon; explain why the creation of the M25 lead directly to the Act; and confess just how many illegal parties they’ve (inadvertently) attended… Further Reading: • ‘The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 becomes law’ (The Guardian, 2011): https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/15/criminal-justice-public-order-act • Police clash with ravers at Castlemorton (BBC News West, 1992): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOySsljl54E • ‘Why did raves become illegal?’ (BBC Newsbeat, 2020): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-53170021 #1990s #UK #music #culture ‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Publishing House Penguin Books was found unanimously not guilty of obscenity for printing an unexpurgated Lady Chatterley's Lover on November 2nd, 1960. The novel’s author, D.H. Lawrence, had died 30 years earlier, but the court’s landmark ruling had a significant impact on the publishing world, paving the way for greater freedom of the written word. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore how the chief prosector Mervyn Griffith-Jones massively misread the social moment; look into how the case inadvertently helped usher in the coming era of sexual liberation; and discuss why the establishment would have been ok with the book if only the gamekeeper had died… Further Reading: • ‘The trial of Lady Chatterley’s Lover: how the 'obscene' book caused a moral storm’ (History Extra, 2020): https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/the-trial-of-lady-chatterleys-lover-obscenity-trial/ • ‘Lady Chatterley's legal case: how the book changed the meaning of obscene’ (The Guardian, 2019): https://www.theguardian.com/law/2019/aug/01/lady-chatterleys-legal-case-how-the-book-changed-the-meaning-of-obscene • ‘From the archives: The Chatterley trial’ (Spectator, 2010): https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/from-the-archives-the-chatterley-trial • ‘Forbidden Love - Lady Chatterley's Lover’ (BBC, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjGOKzpvMz4 #60s #Books #Arts #Strange #UK Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John Adams became the first US president to move into the White House on November 1st, 1800, even though construction work was still underway and most of the building was unfinished. There was a reason for his determination to get in as quickly as possible: he clearly wanted to be the first president to live in the White House and there was an election coming up just a week later – an election that he lost. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore why his wife hated the White House; look into why so many presidents finish their presidency in debt; and discuss why there are so many fun rooms in the White House, including a bowling alley, music room and even a cinema… Further Reading: • ‘How the Declaration of Independence wooed Americans away from Britain’ (National Geographic, 2002): https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2022/06/how-the-declaration-of-independence-wooed-americans-away-from-britain • ‘Adams moves into the White House, Nov. 1, 1800’ (Politico, 2018): https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/31/president-adams-moves-into-the-white-house-nov-1-1800-949132 • ‘At home in the White House: how different presidents adapted to life in office’ (Prospect, 2017): https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/other/at-home-in-the-white-house-how-different-presidents-adapted-to-life-in-office • ‘The White House: A Journey Through Time!’ (The Time Travel Artist, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsJU0CMibEg #1800s #Architecture #US Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of Giacomo Casanova's most famous deeds was his daring midnight, cross-rooftop escape from the dreaded “The Leads” prison in Venice on the night of October 31st, 1756. Key to his escape plan was a Bible, a large iron bar and an oversized bowl of pasta. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss why Casanova wasn’t thrilled about being moved to a new jail cell with a better view; explain why he had a little nap right in the middle of his jailbreak; and consider the awkwardness of being such an indiscriminate shagger that you eventually accidentally end up in bed with your own daughter… Further Reading: • 'How Casanova’s provocative memoir created a legend' (BBC, 2016): https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20161108-how-casanovas-x-rated-memoir-created-a-legend • 'Giacomo Casanova Breaks out of Prison' (Odd Salon, 2016): https://oddsalon.com/jan-5-1757-giacomo-casanova-breaks-out-of-prison/ • 'Fellini's Casanova - The Escape’ (Produzioni Europee Associate, 1976): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccQ3f0agbU4 #person #1700s #Person #Italy #Europe Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY! Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The life of Harvard University – the oldest institution of higher learning in the US – officially began on 28th October, 1636 when the Massachusetts Bay Colony appropriated £400 for its construction. It;s fair to say the first few years of Harvard’s existence were not a success, featuring whippings, poisonings, and way too little beef and beer for the students’ liking. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the university got its name; look into why early students had to learn Hebrew if they wanted to graduate; and discuss why Benjamin Franklin thought all Harvard students were “blockheads”... Further Reading: • 'Harvard’s History and Mission' (Harvard University, 2022): https://hds.harvard.edu/about/history-and-mission#:~:text=After%20God%20had%20carried%20us,it%20to%20posterity%3B%20dreading%20to • 'A History of Harvard University' (Best College Reviews, 2022): https://www.bestcollegereviews.org/history-behind-harvard-university/ • 'History of Harvard University’ (American History: 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhK3UG6hsXc We'll be back on Monday - unless you join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week! Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks! The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices